Fate's Gale
by RebelHybrid
Summary: A story about 13 unique individuals as they learn about their role as they fight an old enemy. The revamped and much better version of Rise and Rebellion.
1. Prologue: Not my story anymore

_**~Prologue: Not my story anymore~**_

_I want to tell you all about my home._

_Well there's not much to say at the moment other than my home, Solaris, is not what it appears to be. The same goes for the inhabitants._

_Myself included._

* * *

><p>It was obvious that the city had indeed turned into a battlefield as its citizens ran in panic from the monsters that were killing any and everyone that they could get in the most brutal way.<p>

Smoke, fire, and destruction lay all around.

Suddenly a figure leaps out of the crowd that's fleeing and destroys one of the monsters that has been attacking, creating a dead silence as the citizens backed away from the figure.

The said person looked not that threatening, being a young man that was around 5'8 and was wielding a sword.

He turned the monster's corpse over with his foot before it turned to dust as soon as the light reached it. Then he turned to the rest of them, heterochomic eyes meeting the snarling monsters as he twirled his sword in his hand and pointed at them.

* * *

><p><em>I used to think that I was just a normal dorky kid that enjoyed watching movies and causing all kinds of trouble for my family with whoever liked me enough in my hometown.<em>

_Turns out I wasn't as normal as I thought._

_Though being normal never suited well with me... or my friends..._

* * *

><p>A few more monsters fell as twelve other figures joined him, each wielding a unique looking weapon that suited each warrior.<p>

"You know you could have waited for us before jumping in like that." The tallest of the group addressed to the previous loner. "We could have left you behind..."

"And then where would you guys be? Comic relief like me is very hard to come by these days... in any case I had to do something to get you guys to come to the party sooner than later..."

* * *

><p><em>Did you think that I was the only one? Far from it!<em>

_There are thirteen of us in all... ranging from Alenthi to Sayian..._

_And there's a reason for us being the way we are._

_A long time ago there was a "lighthouse" that held the backbone of this world: three pillars of fate, nine fountains, a chain to connect them all and Kingdom Hearts._

_Everyone was fine with the way the way was back then... but then evil destroyed the building and the backbone disappeared._

_That's where my friends and I come in... and why you're here as well._

_See at first I thought that this was going to be my story that you'd be witnessing but not anymore._

* * *

><p>"Whatever let's just get this show on the road."<p>

The group readied themselves into fighting positions and then charged at the group of oncoming monsters.

* * *

><p><em>My name is Shea Ryan Alister, Windrose Knight and Musketeer of Balance.<em>

_And this... this is the story of the Windrose Knights..._

_This is** our story**__._


	2. Chapter 1: Lost and Found

_**~Chapter 1: Lost and Found~**_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>A lot of people seeking new beginnings have never finished with the past." – Byron Pulsifer<strong>_

"_**If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes."- St. Clement of Alexandra**_

"_**We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."-Joseph Campbell**_

* * *

><p><em>-A year earlier….-<em>

In the ruins of a coastal city overlooking a glass ocean, a short blue tinted skin man wearing a black and red robe of eastern hemisphere origin, a black hat and teashade sunglasses stood on a small and barren island facing the ruined city.

He scanned the place, antennae twitching, brow creased as a howling wind blew through the area, taking with it the fine layer of dust that had built up over the last decade. "Ten years and none of them have returned to this place…" He sighed. "And it's almost time…"

He continued to watch as the wind blew more away, leaving the ruined desolate city nothing more than a bare skeleton and a grave marker for the immeasurable casualties that lie there. Then he turned his attention to three cloaked figures that stood behind him in silence for the memory of those who had fallen. "Could you find anything that leads to the ruins?"

All three shook their heads and the man grimaced. "Just as we feared… Alright you three have a new assignment: find them, let them know of the situation we're in and somehow convince them to help us. Without their help, we might as well give up the fight."

One of the three, who wore a gray cloak, stepped forward. "King Kai, what about the three we need to find?"

"The Musketeers are part of that group so you don't need to look far. The charms that belonged to each will lead you to their owners without much difficulty. What you need to worry about is finding them without drawing the enemy's attention, because heaven forbid should _they_ find those boys first."

"And the assistants?"

"They will wake up and find them on their own when the time comes. But as of now, they are sealed up in the Old Capital and shall be safe for the time being." King Kai turned to the three. "Anymore questions?"

The response he received was a firm and silent "no" in which he nodded in agreement. "This is could possibly be a suicidal mission because of the danger involved. I wouldn't ask you three to find them for us if I knew where they're current location myself and if we had not wasted all our resources with fighting then we would have waited a couple more years. So you can see that it is one that has been thought of out of sheer desperation and one that _cannot fail_. I shall be with the other Sages, watching your progress and, hopefully, providing you with further information. Godspeed and let's hope that Fate has been generous enough to keep those boys safe from the Overtakers."

The three cloaked figures nodded and left in separate direction, leaving King Kai alone with his thoughts.

_If the Overtakers find any of them, it'll be game over for us all. I hope that this is the right course of action._

* * *

><p><em>Solaris, a world created with a mysterious purpose, has been split into three worlds: Anima, Terra, and Hiatus, taking a large amount of the inhabitants with them. <em>

_The states of the three worlds has degraded over the millennia that each has survived as war, fear, and the fragile condition of life has worn on in its own way._

_Anima has been the most fortunate in the fact that it has kept its diverse population alive and thriving creating a world that one would find the most pleasant to inhabit. But it's often the most threatened of the three as the inhabitants sometimes fight with each other or awaken old evils that unleash their unbridled wrath upon the unprepared masses. Recently the threats have come and gone like the waves of the ocean and peace is a very fragile idea that keeps a majority of the people going day to day._

_Terra isn't as fortunate. The landscape has been ravaged by war and now has become a barren wasteland after the last Great War against its nations that ended when they used nuclear weapons on their own soil to end the conflict. The people are dying either of starvation or random acts of violence that are being committed by each other. Now the inhabitants are separated into two classes: Dome-Dwellers and Scavengers. Dome-Dwellers are the amount of the remaining human race that reside in cities under the protection of glass domes, thriving on self created isolation and the recycled technology that remains from the long forgotten age of peace. Scavengers are the rest of the remaining population that live on the outside, becoming twisted animalistic versions of themselves that kill and scavenge off of each other to survive._

_Hiatus is the worst off of the three. A majority of the landscape has become a giant desert with various "utopias" under domes similar to those on Terra. There is one ocean that covers a third of the surface of the world with water that will never reach those that live in the "utopias" that were ruled by ruling and warring tribes. The desert itself is a very harsh environment with monsters lying in wait in the sand for the freezing nights so weary travelers would stumble on them and meet their doom while the blazing hot days claimed many victims. There are few towns that are built on remains of crashed ships that remain uncovered and at the mercy of the harsh Hiatus sun._

_The condition of the three worlds continues to deteriorate with each passing day while the hope's of the people wane away._

_And now it has become much worse with the return of the Overtakers, an ancient evil that was banished years and years ago with a power that caused Solaris to break into the three worlds. It is said that they have ruined and destroyed billions of lives before the arrival of the Windrose Knights. The Windrose Knights was a group of thirteen souls with unimaginable power that stood up against the Overtakers. The arrival of the Windrose Knights led to their destruction, but destroyed themselves in the process. It is also said that when the Overtakers return, so will the Windrose Knights. _

_From learning this, the people of Anima, Terra, and Hiatus secretly base their hopes on the return of the Windrose, but even now that hope seems to be slowly dying with the people…_

* * *

><p>-<em>Anima<em>-

* * *

><p>In an academy situated in a bare forest, a blond haired youth walked down the hallway towards the headmaster of the school's office, avoiding the nasty glares that some of the other students were giving him.<p>

It wasn't of course about his status as a studious and popular student at the school, nor the possible ideas of what he was and why the recently arrived creatures of the forest met their end in a blinding light whenever he walked through to get the mail from the bus stop, although this made some terrified about going anywhere near him. Neither was it because some of his friends were the hottest girls in the school and he showed no romantic interest in them, even though many times he's been bothered by guys who wanted a date with them.

No the reason why some of them glared at him was because of the mark that was on his palm. No one had ever seen anything like it before and many thought that thus would bring about misfortune for the school should he continue to stay. This idea was shared by not only a good portion of the students but the staff as well, which has lead to him taking frequent trips to the headmaster's office.

This time though… it felt different. The whole day had been like this for him and even with the support and friendship from the News Club, he still felt on edge and uneasy. This uneasiness was clearly shown in the way his body tensed and he rarely acknowledged anyone he passed by in the hallway.

Finally he arrived at his destination: the headmaster's office. He quickly entered the room and quietly closed the door, making sure that no one would eavesdrop before he addressed the headmaster. "You sent for me?"

The cloaked man smiled under the hood but it was a sad smile that alerted Bobby that his assumption was right and something was off. "Is everything alright?"

"I regret to say that no, everything isn't alright. Bobby Murasama, you need to leave Yokai Academy as soon as possible."

_W-What! No… what about my friends? My schooling? I can't just drop everything and leave! _"What? W-Why?"

The headmaster seemed hesitant to answer him. "Because there's a sinister darkness coming here and I fear that because of your heritage… it's after you." He stood up and personally handed him a pack with a sword laid on top. "This is all I can give you. There is some food and clothing, but only for a few days. You must leave immediately otherwise you and everyone else will suffer under this new threat."

Bobby nodded as he held the pack, taking in the headmaster's lie.

It was a lie because the headmaster knew what the threat was, why it was here, and that it wasn't a "new threat". But he knew that as a Sage, he had to make sure that Bobby was safe and being on the front-lines of the upcoming battle for the school wasn't safe for him at the level he was at now. He also knew that it was too soon to reveal anything to the 18 year old, as much as he wanted to let him know all that he knew about the situation.

He needed to witness the whole thing for himself.

"But what about-"

"I'll let your friends know, unfortunately there will be no goodbyes. Now hurry, time is against you in this situation and best of luck to you."

With a swift nod, Bobby Murasama left both the Headmaster's office and Yokai Academy, completely unaware of the brown cloaked stranger that watched from his perch in the forest.

* * *

><p>Another person ran off and Azrael, content with the stolen wallet that he mugged from the unfortunate sap, leaned against the wall of the alley and slid down till he was sitting in the cool shadow. Then he opened up his earned prize and smiled as it seemed to be bursting with money.<p>

There was enough for tomorrow's buzz.

He quickly stuffed the loaded wallet in the pocket of his jacket and looked at himself in a shop window before he retreated into the broken down building that he had made into his current residence as the other place had been torn down.

There wasn't much to his "home": a sleeping bag, a bag with food and clothes, a photo album, and another bag full of needles and drugs.

Well the bag _used_ to be full. Now it was full of empty and used needles that he could no longer use. It looked just about as bad as he did.

He noticed that the black hoodie, jeans, and vans he wore were dirty and stained like the rest of his clothes and he needed to eat soon… his ribs were starting to show.

Now that he was thinking about it, a bath would be useful too… but he only shrugged his shoulders and foregone his common sense for the thrill of getting another buzz.

Azrael transferred the wallet from his pocket to his backpack with the other wallets that he had often forgot where there every time, every night that he lapsed into a high induced state that lead to him always crashing somewhere other than "home". Then he sat on the sleeping bag and pulled out the last batch of drugs and the last clean needle from the other bag and very quickly injected the drugs.

A smile appeared as his pupils dilated and the illusions began to take form.

The shadows, to him, started forming into familiar people that he hadn't seen since he was eight years old. His friend with the Pikachu hair that he left after realizing that he was the one that was beating him up, blaming him for what happened. The captain of the guards that had tried helping him get over his feeling of grief. He tried giving him a purpose but he turned him away.

The list of people grew until the last illusion was his friend that vanished that night ten years ago.

He looked sad at Azrael's condition which pissed him off. "Why are you sad? You left all of us that night! Because of you… all of this happened! But you don't care… YOU'RE _**DEAD**_! You're dead…" With his anger subsided he covered his face with his hands and waited for the illusion to vanish like the others.

He heard shuffling and looked up to see the illusion of his friend walking back with a short sharpened piece of metal.

Azrael silently watched as the "illusion" kneeled down and scratched out words into the cement floor, then slowly stand up, rippling and transforming into an older version of him that smiled before vanishing.

He stood up and peered at the phrase that was left behind.

_Time to wake up, Azzy._

Azrael woke up to see a figure wearing a black cloak hovering over him and squinted, waiting till his vision cleared and there were no more doubles of the man.

"You're Azrael Rainier, correct?"

"Y-yeah… Who are you?"

The man removed his hood to reveal that he had tan skin, a black beard, and short black hair. He flashed a small smile and helped Azrael up to his feet. "I'm glad that I found you, there's a lot I need to tell you. But first we need you to get to a hospital… you're very close to over dosing."

* * *

><p>Stephen stopped to pay some respects to a couple of unknown grave markers and then continued on his way through the empty town.<p>

This is not what he imagined when he left the Fairy Tale Guild.

Now that he thought about it, it had been a while since he had any contact with his friends after leaving the guild to chase after a rumor.

_I wonder how they're all doing… I'm sure they've gotten stronger…_ He thought as he continued on his way, not paying much attention to the crushed buildings, broken homes, and absolute destruction that many of the smaller towns have received over the decade.

Technically when he left he became an ex-member of the guild… and only recently he learned from someone that was now dead that another rumor had been going around saying that Stephen Penders had gone rouge.

Of course that was entirely false… as was the rumor of his mentor, Master Lolita, being anywhere near the vicinity. The only thing here was death.

He heard some screaming and howling not far off and became alert. He grabbed the old sealed up sword, tensed up and scanned the area in both directions for the source of the disturbance.

There were more screams and some crashes, soon followed by a dust cloud to his left and he cautiously advanced towards the commotion.

When he got there though, there was nothing he could do except hide and keep himself from retching because of the sight and smell that welcomed him.

An entire family… well at least that's what he guessed from the sizes of the disfigured corpses and the positions they were in before they died.

The two larger corpses had at least tried to protect the smaller ones before the monster, which was currently busy tearing their belongings apart, killed them.

Stephen knew that there was nothing he could do now for the dead family… but what he could do was move as quickly and quietly as he could before the monster finished with wrecking the place, because the last thing that he needed was a hungry abomination finding him especially when he couldn't access magic at the present moment and the only weapon he had on hand was a sealed up sword that had less bite than a mosquito.

Still repressing the urge to vomit at the stench of the bodies, Stephen quickly navigated behind any debris he could find, pausing briefly to wait for the creature as it occasionally sniffed the air, paused, and then went back to its task.

Once he was far enough he broke into a sprint, running into a kid and falling on his back, groaning as he got a good look at the person he ran into.

It was a small child that wore a tattered up robe with the hood covering his/her face, clutching a small stuffed toy and rolling on the balls of their bare feet.

"Hey what are you doing here? Don't you know this place is dangerous?" Stephen asked in a hushed tone as he glanced back over his shoulder in case the monster had spotted him.

The child nodded and grabbed Stephen's hand, leading him away.

"Uhm okay…" Stephen mumbled as he followed the kid's lead, still looking over his shoulder for danger.

He didn't notice the sharp toothy ear to ear grin that the kid wore as they moved away to the bloody scene.

* * *

><p>In a nearby town, a group of well armed warriors grumbled as they stood and stared at the notice board and the red "taken" that was stamped on the latest job.<p>

Only one person could have been here so fast. And since the job was only posted a few days ago, he would probably come back soon.

A young man with brown eyes and red hair, about as red as human blood that spiked all over the place who smirked at danger and rumored to be a very strong opponent…

Sure enough, he did show.

Genesis Lava, wearing all back and carrying various tools with him, was dragging the head of the monster that the "taken" job talked about with a confident smirk on his face that by this point was annoying to the other hunters that resided in the town.

"How does he think he is huh?"

"I heard that he's a survivor of one of the major attacks from ten years ago and that he's been preparing for some kind of rescue mission by killing monster after monster…"

"I heard that he has a secret weapon that allows him to hunt down monsters without getting a single scratch."

Genesis walked past the hunters and their whispered rumors, scoffing at the ridiculous stories they were making up. _Idiots… if only they knew the truth… _He clutched the necklace that was in his pocket as he headed inside the building that set up and accepts the jobs for the notice board.

Inside he dropped the head on the desk of a small and very easily agitated man. "There you go, one less monster to worry about… now the reward?" He waved his hand as if to say "I want the money now" to the small man.

The man nodded and started piling bill after bill into Genesis' open hand as Genesis mentally counted each one so he got every last bit of the reward so he can move onto the next town as soon as he could.

A number of past experiences have taught him to be very careful at this part of the jobs… otherwise he would have been in the ground like the rest of the naïve hunters that set out with him after training.

"That's every last one Mr. Lava… are you sure that you wouldn't like to stay here during the storm? It gets pretty rough out there…"

"I think I'll be fine out there, besides I've got a friend out there that I need to find as soon as possible."

"Oh… I see… well good luck."

Genesis turned to leave when another person bumped into him and ran into the small man's desk.

"Sir it's back… And it has a hostage this time, a young man with black hair and hazel eyes…"

Genesis froze as the two people talked about this "hostage" and listened very closely to all the information that they had.

"So sir… do you think we should set up a job for this one?"

"Of course… but it'll be a high paying one, this one has been causing us trouble for a long time. It even destroyed the next town and has killed many travelers… we don't want any more casualties."

"Hey, I'll take this job on for you. Just tell me everything you know about the monster."

The group of hunters kept spreading rumors until Genesis walked back out, the smirk on his face wiped clean and replaced with a deadly serious expression that chilled them to the bone.

_Black hair… hazel eyes…Stephen if you're the hostage I swear I will kill you…_ Genesis gripped the necklace so tightly that his hand started to throb and slightly bleed from being pricked by the edges of the necklace.

As soon as he reached the edge of town, he broke into a full sprint into the heavily forested area.

_So this thing, a "Duo" lives in the mountains and relies on deception by separating the head from the body and taking on separate forms… Well this should be a fun fight; I just hope that this guy they're talking about isn't Stephen after all._

* * *

><p>It was a simple mission this time: kill the drug lord that had been ordering the vicious executions on the farmers that were doing what they could to survive. Moderate threat level, terrorists technology, the only real threat was being caught and having his cover blown.<p>

Mystery knew that this was supposedly going to be a snap for him… and that's what bugged him.

He was hoping to have finally gotten a chance to kill an Overtaker and make them pay for what they did. That and on missions like this, something always went wrong.

He continued to look out the window as the car drove on and the driver and passenger continued their conversations about life, memorizing the terrain for the trip back that night… since he was going to dodging bullets if there were any surprises.

And this place was full of surprises.

"Hey, mister… is it this stop or the next one?" The driver turned around as he stopped on the side of the road and looked at the man that had hardly spoken a word the entire trip.

He looked tired and like he had been through training… military probably. Explains the short hairstyle… but it seemed like it was a while since those days of being in service… or near civilization either.

"When was the last time you had sleep?"

Mystery answered with a glare and exited the car with his things in hand, heading in the direction of the town.

For all of his training as a soldier, and unknown to his superiors during his entire career, as an assassin a walk through a forest all by yourself in a territory that belonged to a notorious drug lord was still unnerving. There was always a chance that this could have been an ambush set up by his target… or maybe some of the local wildlife could become aggressive and attack.

Mystery was prepared for either, and thankfully he had a "pleasant" walk (it was very quiet and relatively safe with hardly any encounters, safe for a few killer twigs). He found a platform that was well hidden in the trees, most likely the base for some treehouse or watchtower, and climbed.

Once he was high enough and in the safety of well hidden cover, Mystery decided to set up shop.

Hours later he had finished and was watching the activities of the target's compound through a pair of binoculars while listening to them through a walkie talkie.

Hours passed by and meanwhile Mystery, having nothing better to do, allowed his mind to wander and think back on his life while he setup his sniper rifle but shook his head as images flashed by of someone he used to know on that fateful day 10 years ago. _Wake up, he's dead and there's no way dead people come back._

Suddenly the walkie talkie picked up radio chatter… the drug lord had finally shown his ugly mug.

Mystery got into position, looked through the scope, and pulled the trigger…

* * *

><p><em>Taptap…taptaptap…taptaptaptaptap…<em>

The sound of keyboard keys being hit at a rapid pace filled the dimly lit smoked room as a figure hunched over a computer screen.

Earlier he was laying on the floor, taking another drag from the cancer sticks that he had found in the run down corner gas station/shop that he stumbled upon years ago and made into his little home.

It was something he always did before he mechanically went about with the goal of surviving the day, thinking about the past or to be more precise, what he had done wrong in the past which lead up to the way things were now.

That was before the man in the brown cloak walked in and dropped the bombshell that right now was making him watch the computer screen and typing away in frenzy.

"_Halcyon Kapler I have some news I think you'd like to hear…"_

The green and black screen lit up again and his eyes widened as the radar showed nine dots on the screen. "T-They're alive…" At first he said it in disbelief but as he continued to watch the screen and see the dots moving, a smile slowly grew on his face. "THEY'RE ALIVE!" He laughed and spun around in the chair. "The old man was right!" And in his excitement kissed the computer screen before he left to find something he could write with and write on.

Ideally he would have liked to find all of them… but ten years ago four of them vanished and even though the military and police force couldn't find their bodies and proclaimed them dead he was still hopeful. And now knowing that the others were alive as well made him even more hopeful.

He ran back and quickly scribbled down each coordinates then got up and started a scramble to get anything useful/valuable for the trip that lay ahead of him. He paused as he picked an old and worn photo album and leafed through the pages until he stopped at one picture.

It was a simple group picture of all thirteen of them but as children, making faces at the camera in front of the clock tower of Lassader on the day Felix, Shea's oldest brother, and Asherah, Azrael's older sister, celebrated their daughter's first birthday.

"_Why are we taking this picture again?"_

"_Because today's one of the best days ever and I want to remember spending it with my best friends!"_

They were requested to come because Lissy, Felix's and Asherah's daughter threw a fit because her "uncles" weren't there to celebrate.

It was one of the best days ever… followed by the worst night ever.

Halcyon's smile shrank a little as he closed the photo album. "Almost there…" He carefully stuffed it inside the pack and continued looking around when a phone rang.

Halcyon stopped and slowly looked up at the phone as it rang again. _That hasn't worked the entire time I've been in here… or maybe it always did but no one bothered calling the number. Why is it ringing now?_

He walked over and answered the phone as it rang again. "Hello?"

There was a pause at the other end. "Hello… w-who's this?" The voice was slightly familiar but he couldn't exactly place where he heard it before.

"You tell me. You called this number."

"I just called a number I found through a phone book and hoped someone would answer and tell me if they tell me whatever they knew about a few certain people."

At this point Halcyon was suspicious. "Who are you looking for?"

There was another pause. "Well I'm looking for a few friends… Pikachu, Azzy, Gen, Stephen, Zahl…" There was a pause and some nervous laughter. "Sorry I forgot I'm talking to a total stranger here, I'm pretty sure you think that I'm crazy huh?"

Halcyon almost dropped the phone as his mind finally recognized the distantly familiar voice. _No. Freaking. Way…_ "Sh-Shea… is that you?"

He heard an audible gasp, a few noises here and there followed by some cursing. "Pikachu… oh it's good to hear a friendly voice again…"

Halcyon beamed. "You're not the only one…" He wiped a few tears with a sleeve. "You're not the only one…"

* * *

><p><em>All I wanted to do was help… I didn't want to end up as target practice.<em> Was all he thought as he ran for his life.

The village was hot on his heels as bullets zipped by, piercing the trees.

Dogs howled as they pursued the retreating figure, nipping at his legs.

Overall for Rozasunui Akashiya, today wasn't turning out to be a good day for him, as usual.

And all he wanted to help them out with their problem with the local thugs that were hoarding the water supply. He didn't say or do anything to provoke them into violence and yet they started screaming. It got worse when they dove for torches, pitchforks, and whatever else they had.

Obviously it became clear to him that he needed to leave as soon as possible, which he did.

Now all he had to do was lose the persistent group.

With adrenaline coursing through him, he sprinted ahead. Crossing a river to throw off the dogs scent, he smirked as he couldn't hear the dogs anymore. Then he crossed into an area he knew was forbidden to the local population and hid in the tree tops.

The people that were chasing him came to a halt and glanced around for any sight of him. Nervous and rather useless chatter amongst themselves filled the air. They continued searching for him on the ground for several minutes before they gave up and ran as fast as they could back to their homes.

Roza dropped down from the tree tops and snickered at his latest escape. "What a bunch of idiots, all they need to do is look up." He took out a notebook that had drawings of the landscape with the towns in it and a red marker. "Well I'm not going to this place again." He mumbled as he crossed off one of the towns with the marker. Looking back at the entire page, Roza sighed in disappointment as the entire page was filled with crossed out towns… as well as the rest of the book

"This sucks; it seems like no one wants help these days. What am I going to do now?" He closed the book and headed back to his base of operations/home which was nothing more than an abandoned military base high up in the mountain peaks.

It didn't take him long to get back and go into his normal routine: eat/drink blood (since he was a vampire after all), check the communication systems for any messages left behind by his friends, stretch, and mess with the Overtaker communication systems.

He always had a laugh when he listened in on the soldiers as they had panic attacks because he interrupted the signal during the middle of combat. But then again that was how he learned about what was going on in the world be it good or bad. Most of the time he hoped that the news would be good... for him.

Roza recounted the day he heard through the communications system that Aizen had wounded Tia Harribel and then later that day he heard that Ichigo Kurosaki had defeated Aizen. At first he had completely shut down, having known Tia personally from his experience of being trapped in Las Noches, and then went completely berserk because he was there to protect her from the man she trusted.

After that, he hoped that he'd never hear news like that again.

Roza picked up his headphones and turned knobs to find the proper signal. He listened to the rather mundane chatter between grunts with a bored expression until he heard a report that made his heart sink.

"... Yokai Academy... Destroyed... No survivors..."

He fell back in his seat as the words echoed in his head. _No... Moka... Kokoa... No..._ He rested his head on the cool table as the thought of two of his sisters, that were currently attending that school, now dead festered in his mind.

"Did you find any sign of Murasama?"

Roza lifted his head and listened very closely to every piece of the conversation. _Bobby was at Yokai Academy?_

"Nothing sir... it seems that he left prior to the attack. We're sending several forces to track him down; he can't have gone too far..."

There was some more useless chatter on the radio and Roza was about to turn off the radio when he heard more bad news.

"What about the others? Did anyone find them?"

"We're in the process of looking for them now. We have Alcuiz at headquarters already; all you need to worry about is finding the others."

Roza listened closely as he heard his name and the names of the others listed through the communications before he turned off the radio. He sat back and slowly processed the news in his mind. _This isn't good… this is far from good._

It would make sense that with Roza being as tense as he was, he would react naturally when he felt a firm grip on his shoulder.

Fortunately the person he was about to sock had blocked it with the other hand, and Roza tensed even further as he saw the cloaked figure. "Relax Rozasunui, I'm an ally to you and your friends. There's something I need to explain to you…"

* * *

><p>Michael woke up to the sound of a battle that was taking place extremely close to his tent. <em>Another battle? Don't those hunters know the meaning of "Do not disturb"… or sleep!<em>

He listened to the continuing battle and groaned as it sounded like it was nowhere near the end. Knowing that he was going to have to take action, he grabbed the walking stick that he used more often as a staff for beatdowns and exited the tent in his pajamas.

He was shocked to see that the entire forest that he had been camping in was brunt to a crisp and that a Duo, a monster that he had been studying, was fighting two people that he thought that he'd never see again.

Michael dropped his "beatdown" stick and watched Stephen and Genesis fought the monster off. Which should one had gave a passing glance at the scene would have seen the monster and the two youths battling with an adult sitting on some ledge, playing the role of the spectator.

As the scene played out before him, he grabbed his father's field journal and started to jot notes down while including doodles. He never stopped, occasionally glancing up and/or avoiding incoming projectiles before he went back to the book.

He only closed the book when he heard someone call his name.

"Bradshaw! Oi, Bradshaw! …OLD MAN BRADSHAW!"

"It's Michael Bradley Austin Shaw to you, Genesis. You don't need to yell to get my attention." He stood up and slid down to where the two stood in the valley. "And I'm 29 years old so you can quit it with the 'Old Man' bit."

Genesis looked quite annoyed while Stephen remained quiet and analytical, as usual. "You're 10 years our senior… so why not? Anyways, I thought you were dead."

"Same here, how did you two survive?"

Both Stephen and Genesis shrugged their shoulders as their answer to Michael's question. This caused him to think.

"I wonder… if we survived then would the others have as well. At least that's my theory, its just coincidence that the three of us met like this…"

"It's plausible." Stephen finally spoke up. "But not all of us were actually alive when we split up… Alec was still morning his brother's death while the rest of us moved on so we could avoid getting captured. So we know for sure that Declan is dead and dead people usually don't come back. Then Zahler and Shea split from the group just as the enemy caught up to us so there is no way of knowing if they're even alive."

"Well there is always hoping. Anyway we should travel together so as to avoid anymore trouble and to recuperate at the nearest town."

"That sounds like a good idea."

* * *

><p>Ebur Cadit used to be a college town in the last decade, but now it is ruled by crooked companies with an underground black market being the unseen hub for all transactions that fuels this town.<p>

Of course the college is still open. A town like this couldn't run on uneducated people, which is why the companies, crime bosses, and any half-wit sent a small portion of their funds to the college to keep it running. Though in return those who graduated and stayed in town had to work for the very same people that helped them gain an education.

It was an "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" deal that for the most part kept the developing town out of the limelight of the criminal world. But it didn't mean that Ebur Cadit was safe from the dangers that lurked in the shadows.

He knew this all too well, because he had been residing in this town for several years, hoping to find some leads on his friends that he hadn't seen since the attack. In order to survive without giving anyone his identity, which would lead to the person who was responsible of that attack to come looking for him, he'd become a hitman.

It was a job he was pretty good at too, and if he was honest with himself, it was a great way for him to take all his anger out on.

After all, his targets were bad men. So he was doing the world a favor by doing what he did best, killing the bad guys.

Dante Everett continued prepping himself for tonight's run. He had finally received enough information to take out one of the largest criminal gangs here in town and tonight was his only chance to strike. So there was no way he was going to miss or mess this up.

Though with his skills, there wasn't much chance that he would.

Now finished with prepping, Dante grabbed a trench coat and walked towards his destination: the skyscraper in the center of town.

This was where the gang was going to meet up… and this was where he was going to complete his last job.

At least the walk over there was peaceful. No one disturbed him, there wasn't any commotion going on, it was just him, the wind, and his footsteps. This gave him time to create a strategy on how to off the members of this organized gang one by one in the quickest fashion possible. That way he could get some sleep and maybe get a bagel before he started looking for the others.

The dreams he had every night were too vivid to be normal dreams, in them he could feel, smell, and touch when he shouldn't. In his normal dreams he could only see and hear. Plus he saw the others… not as kids like the last time he saw them, but as adults.

They had to mean something and as soon as this gang was gone, he was going to look for answers.

And soon enough he had a plan… It wasn't long now before he could finally move on.

* * *

><p><em>-Terra-<em>

* * *

><p>The body was wheeled away and the doctor heard the screams that erupted from those who were hoping for the best in the hallway. He never got used to the sound of screams and his bloodied hands began to shake.<p>

Eventually it came to a point where he had to close the door, and then all he heard was silence.

It still bugged him that even in complete silence, his hands trembled. He ripped the gloves off and ran his fingers through his blonde hair in an effort to calm down.

"Alec calm down… it's over... you need to calm down…" He muttered to himself as he paced back and forth in the room. He avoided looking at the bloodied hospital equipment that he had used in a desperate effort to save the man's life, because now they were reminders of failure…

Failure reminded him of his brother's broken body ten years ago…

He cursed. "Stop thinking about that!" He grabbed whatever was closest to him and threw it against the window, breaking the glass.

Alec King stared at the glass, as if it provided answers. When he got nothing from it he collapsed in the chair at his desk and stared at the ceiling.

"_I don't think that the pencil really deserved that, Sir."_

Alec laughed as his assistant's voice tried cracking a joke inside his head. _Yes, you would think that Dahvie…_ Though, the laughter didn't last long as again, thoughts of one of the few dear friends he had in this world brought tears to his eyes. _You were the only person that would think that. What are you doing now, Dahvie? Are you being successful? Are you happy wherever you are?_

He used his foot to spin the chair around as he waited for an answer… or anything from his friend as he continued staring at the ceiling. Recently… he had more and more moments where he had stared at some inanimate object, hearing that voice at work and waiting for it to come back and provide some sort of conversation inside his head.

Of course, he would always get silence… and then a few recommendations to see the local therapist from fellow co-workers. But that wouldn't work as the local therapist… was his brother, and when he felt like it, he would make a crack about how he was turning gay all because he talked about was his friend.

Alec would respond with that with some sort of threat that involved needles because he still watched the attractive nurses in their street clothes walk by and think of a few pick up lines. So that ruled out the theory that he was gay…

No, his friend Dahvie was the only one that would provide condolence and comfort when he became a nervous wreck. That was the only reason why he wished for his friend now… to provide some sanity to his madness with a sarcastic joke or two.

He stopped the chair, and sat up to rub his neck. All he got was silence, he always got silence…

The laughter came again, only this time it was bitter. "I think I'm really going insane…"

* * *

><p>"Well… that didn't work out like I had hoped." He muttered as he watched the couple run down the steps. Well the husband was screaming bloody murder while the wife screamed profanities at him.<p>

_He should have kept his mouth shut… Even __**I**__ don't share what goes on in the bedroom…_ He shook his head and closed the door. "At least I got paid for something… that means we can get something other than Chinese take out for dinner tonight."

He grabbed the phone book, plopped onto the couch and skimmed through the pages. "Oh… pizza sounds good… and it doesn't have nuts in it so we don't have to worry about allergic reactions." _Good thing the phone's always close by…_

After dialing a few numbers and finally getting a person rather than an answering machine to take his order, Declan King turned on the television to some soap opera.

"It's not like I have anything better to do around here other wait for the pizza…"

It wasn't exactly true… he could go to the hospital and be a jerk to his brother… but with the Scavenger attacks becoming more frequent and more vicious, the only thing that waited for him was a nervous wreck amidst chaos and death.

The other thing he could do was hang out with the other tenant of the apartment, but that kid always preferred to be alone on days like this. He'd would be nothing other than dead weight to the kid… and that would mean that he would get an earful from a short-stack . Declan still had some dignity left and he wanted to keep it.

So the only choice that remained was for him to be a couch potato, watch soap operas, and waited for the pizza.

He heard a knock at the door. "Well that was fast." He got up and walked towards the door.

The knocking became more insistent and he groaned. "Yeah yeah I hear ya, I'm coming!"

Still whoever was on the other side of the door kept knocking as he unlocked the door.

"Yeah, how much do I owe yo-" He stopped short as he got a good look at the person. "You're not the pizza guy…" He switched to a more serious mood as he saw that his brother was with the cloaked figure. "What do you want?"

* * *

><p>"Zahler, you must consider it."<p>

As usual he sighed. "Would you leave me alone for the rest of the day if I said 'yes', Adolf? These visits are starting to annoy me."

"Yes I would leave if you agreed." The dressed up man replied.

"Alright then, go ahead with the project. It's not going to affect me anyway." Zahler resigned as he studied the decaying architecture of the city that was just outside his window. "Adolf… while you're at it, would you suggest a plan to the committee about allowing me to fix the city. I want it to look nice again."

Adolf at first said nothing and Zahler turned his chair away from the window to the military dressed man and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Yes of course I will, Sire. You certainly know best after all."

"Good, I was about to go stir crazy if I had to look at anymore decaying buildings. This city needs a new look… something that doesn't scream out 'garbage dump'…"

Adolf obviously said nothing and started leaving the conference room when a more pressing concern came to Zahler's mind.

"Adolf…"

The man stopped at the door. "You have another question, Sire?"

Zahler straightened himself up in the chair and carefully considered his wording for his next question. "Have you found him yet?"

"Who are we talking about here?"

"Adolf, don't play dumb with me." There was a threatening tone to Zahler's voice. "You know who I'm talking about."

Adolf didn't answer, and instead threw out another question. "No I don't. I know that this person is a male by the fact you said 'he' and there are plenty of males in the city."

Zahler growled and stood up. "Adolf, have you found Shea Ryan Alister yet?"

What he didn't hear was the chuckle before Adolf answered. "No, not yet. Like I've said many times before… when we find him, we'll bring him directly to you."

Zahler looked at the glass table and noted his reflection was looking worried instead of calm and poised, so he fixed that before looking up again. "That's good enough for now… you're dismissed."

Adolf left the room and Zahler collapsed in the big leather chair that was clearly meant for a giant with a sigh. "I hate that man…" He muttered, knowing that he would get no response back from the silence that accompanied him.

Eventually he drummed his fingers on the glass, thinking about something before he reached for his cellphone and dialed a number.

He stood up and looked out the window as he waited for an answer.

"Yeah… it's me… keep it open; I'm getting out of here."

* * *

><p>The last cloaked figure held the fluer-de-lis out in front of him as he walked through the streets, following the pull it had. <em>I'm close to him now… the last one…<em>

He cut through narrow alleyways, jumped over some debris and trash, and avoiding large groups of people. If he was caught now, being in the center of Overtaker territory, it would be over for him and his friends.

He couldn't afford any slip ups now.

As he continued his journey, the pull became stronger and his heart started pounding. _This is it… the Master Puppeteer is close by…_

A few more turns and he was at the docks, with nothing but a black ocean and burned down buildings. At first he was confused as to why he was lead here, but the charm started to shake in his hand and urged him forward, almost taking his arm off in the process.

He continued onward and sure enough saw the person he was looking for.

He didn't look eighteen… nor did he look like he was someone very important wearing clothes that were two sizes too big for him and covered in dirt. But looks can be deceiving.

The cloaked man approached the boy who sat at the dock and chucked rocks into the ocean. "Excuse me, boy, can you help me with something?"

The boy sighed and looked up at the man. "Look here mister…" He arched an eyebrow as he glanced at the attire he wore. "Uhm Halloween already happened like a half a year ago so you might want to ditch the cloak. Anyway mister, no one calls me 'boy' anymore, I'm eighteen."

"Yes I know. By any chance are you Shea Ryan Alister?"

Gray eyes widened in surprise and the boy got on his feet. "Yeah… who wants to know?"

The cloaked figure held out the now glowing charm in front of him. "How would you like to have an adventure of a lifetime?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Chapter 1 End~ <strong>_


	3. Chapter 2: Distance

_**~Chapter 2: Distance~**_

"_**Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, whose blood is in your own veins."- Charles Alexander Eastman**_

_**"Friendship is only cement that will ever hold the world together."-Woodrow Wilson**_

_**"A friend should be one in whose understanding and virtue we can equally confide, and whose opinion we can value at once for its justness and its sincerity." -Robert Hall**_

_**"It is more shameful to mistrust one's friends than to be deceived by them" -François de la Rochefoucauld**_

_**"Time or distance cannot touch the friendship of the heart." -Unknown**_

_**"Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend's success." -Oscar Wilde**_

* * *

><p><em>-Anima-<em>

_-Radiant Garden, Erundas-_

Merlin has been a colorful resident of Radiant Garden. That much was true.

He was usually found messing with some stray kitchen utensil that had floated out of his home or talking with his owl friend Archimedes about "what makes the world go 'round". Judging that this was an almost daily occurrence no one really bothered to complain or question the motives behind the actions of the old man as he ventured the town.

Thankfully this meant that the secret that Merlin had been keeping was safe for just a little longer.

Today he went out for a usual shopping trip, breezing through the markets picking up food that for a normal person would probably be more than enough for at least six months. But like as everything else he did, no one questioned it.

He finished, paying for the food and shoving it all into his magic bag which impressed some local kids. Then he headed back to his beloved home.

"Ah Merlin, you're back and just in time too!" Archimedes joyfully cried out as he flew from his perch on the quirky building and landed on Merlin's shoulder.

The old wizard chuckled. "I take it that they're at it again, eh Archimedes?"

"Oh yes, they're at it alright." The joyful mood the owl had was immediately replaced by a cross one as he puffed up. "The Z Fighters started it in the 'War Room' by adding some rather ridiculous strategies on how to strike back at the Overtakers and it just blew up from there."

"Oh? How so, Archimedes? I'm sure that they're responsible enough to settle a little argument by themselves."

Merlin was sadly mistaken when he saw various pieces furniture being thrown out of the house and yelling could be heard from the inside.

Archimedes laughed. "Yeah sure… and pigs can fly!"

Merlin shot him a warning glance before he entered the chaos.

Now even though everyone kept a distance from him and didn't bombard him with numerous questions, no one knew about the secret he was keeping.

Merlin's house was actually the entrance to the underground base of the Resistance, a group of warriors that had lost their homes to the Overtakers and wanted to fight back. This was the last resistance group in the entire world that hadn't been obliterated by the powerful group. So until the time was right, the members of the group kept the whole thing as their secret so they could extend their lifespan by at least a reasonable amount of years.

But that didn't mean that the group was like _The Watersons_, and got along. In fact this group was more like _Malcom in the Middle,_ were it seemed like the members, if provoked, would engage in their own little wars.

And today it seemed like it was World War III.

Inside Merlin gave an exasperated sigh as he watched the furniture fly and the members that were actually fighting, the members of a powerful guild called Fairy Tale and a group of martial art warriors of several races called the Z Fighters.

The other warriors that were part of the resistance who were unlucky to be in the same room stood apart from them and kept their mouths shut as Merlin used his skills in the arcane arts to stop all flying hazards.

This alerted the two fighting groups to his presence and they calmed down.

"So you want to strike now?" Merlin inquired.

"We're tired of waiting, Merlin, people are dying every day and we can't just stand by and watch. We need to do something about this now." Goku, the leader of the Z Fighters, said. He was backed up by affirmative nods and various murmurs by members of his group.

"You have a good point, my boy. But we're not ready for any sort of strike at this moment, we need to wait. From what King Kai has told me, it won't be long until we can turn the tide in this war."

"Does Makarov agree with that?" Gray Fullbuster, a member of the surviving Fairy Tale guild, questioned ignoring the various glares that he was receiving from the Z Fighters because of what he was saying in between the lines: "I don't trust this 'King Kai' well enough to take his word on anything."

Merlin nodded. "And so do I. You need to remember that with my colleagues and me, you might want to have some faith on what we tell you and the others. Now, everyone involved with this will have to clean up this mess otherwise there will be no dinner."

This was followed by groans and both groups mingled to start cleaning up the mess that they had created while Merlin stepped outside to retrieve his bag. Based on past experiences, he was always careful to keep both hands free in case he needed to use more of his arcane skills to control the groups.

At first he was confused because his bag was gone from where he had placed it, but he felt a tug on his sleeve and upon turning around found where his bag had gone.

A girl around the tender age of nine with dark auburn hair and blue eyes stood in front of him. She had a big, innocent smile on her face and had the bag in her hands, having it barely lifted off the ground.

"Ah Ivalissa, it's nice to see you again." Merlin smiled as she gave him his bag. "Tell me, how are your mother and father doing? And…" He looked around for someone that usually was around the bright happy girl. "…where's your friend?"

"Lissy." The child corrected him, looking around as well. "I don't… he was here a second ago…"

"I'm right here." A boy answered, seemingly appearing by the girl's side from out of nowhere. He had black hair and the same blue eyes as the girl but had a puzzled look on his face.

"Ah there you are Shadow; I was concerned because you weren't by Ivalissa's side like you usually are."

"We go by Lissy and Shad, Merlin." Lissy corrected the elder wizard who nodded and chuckled.

"Yes, my mistake. So how are Asherah and Felix these days?"

"You mean mommy and daddy? They're doing fine; mom's busy dealing with politics and dad's fighting with Uncle Gabe while trying to find out what happened to my favorite uncles."

Merlin nodded his head. "And what about you, Shad, how are you doing?"

Shad shrugged his shoulders. "Adjusting. We came by to see if Riku could teach us some more cool tricks."

"I've heard that Riku has returned from searching for Sora so we can see if he's ready for you two troublemakers."

"Troublemakers!" Lissy pouted. "We're not troublemakers…"

Merlin laughed. "Of course, of course. Now come along we're wasting daylight."

Lissy smiled and grabbed Shad's hand, which caused a small genuine smile to appear on his face, and the two were ushered into the house by Merlin.

"They're quite adorable, aren't they?" A blond haired and well endowed female asked Merlin.

Merlin turned around and smiled at her. "Lady Tsunade, I see you are up to your old tricks again." He looked back at the two children. "Yes they're adorable, some of the last signs of pure innocence during these troubled times." He turned his attention back to her. "Have you brought news from King Kai about the mission's progress?"

Tsuande nodded. "The three succeeded in finding them, and the entire group has just arrived."

"So where are they now?"

"Near the ruins of Midgar, only a week's travel away from here should they go by vehicle. But the enemy's forces are closing in on their position at an alarming rate."

"Well let's hope that those three can get them here safely. During this time we shall continue to keep this quiet from the rest of the Resistance. Please keep me posted on any further developments."

Tsunade nodded her head and vanished in a puff of smoke, presumably heading back to where the rest of the Sages where "hiding".

Merlin stood there and waited for anything else to happen. When nothing happened, he went inside and closed the door behind him.

-_Ruins of Midgar, Erundas, Anima-_

The three cloaked figures waited with their hands on their weapons, ready to draw and stop this before it got any worse.

In front of them stood the thirteen, wearing dark clothing and had their faces hidden for their own safety, with various weapons drawn at each other. In short they were right in the middle of a Mexican Standoff.

They were pointed in the right direction by the three, but since they didn't have a chance to explain why and that they each arrived at separate times dressed in such a way to hide their identities for their own protection… Well you could guess the reaction they had when they met each other.

"Stand down! We're all friends here!" One of the three shouted.

_Friends! These people are not my friends… _The thirteen thought as they continued their standoff. _If any of these idiots makes a sudden move, I'll kill them._

The three glanced at each other, wondering what they should do to break it up.

They didn't have time however as one of them, they guessed it was probably Azrael, looked behind his back when he heard a snap of a twig and the shortest, Shea, dove for him.

The two rolled on the ground several times until the larger one threw his attacker off of him, right into another person, Roza. This started a chain reaction and the Mexican Standoff became an all out brawl of such brutality that the only reason to explain it was that the boys were fighting people they've never met before.

The one that had yelled at them grabbed the shortest one and started pulling him out of the fray when he heard the sound of fabric ripping. The shortest one spun a few times, dropped the hoods that were in his hands and charged again, ignoring the fact that his own hood had been ripped off.

But he and everyone else stopped as soon as they saw who they were fighting. Instead they stood wide eyed in complete silence, reeling from the shock of seeing people they thought they would never meet again.

But there they were, face to face with their friends that they had been separated from for ten years. Ten years of isolation from pretty much anyone from their pasts and now their past was staring them right in the face, showing mere shadows of the people they knew as kids.

All of them looked towards the three still cloaked figures, silently begging for an explanation for all of this.

Before the three could answer them, loud rumbling was heard from above and they all glanced up to see that menacing storm clouds were gathering. They could also see the sporadic spots of light inside the clouds which was a clear sign that lightning was hiding in the dark cloud canopy.

"We can't stay here; follow us if you want to make it through this storm." The three figures turned and headed towards the ruins of Midgar.

The thirteen looked at each other with malice and silently followed the three.

* * *

><p>In another part of the same world, a girl who had turned eighteen in the spring stood on a balcony of the castle that she was residing in and had been for the past two and a half years. Her black hair swayed with the gentle breeze as her blue eyes looked out past the town with it colorful characters and out to the horizon with hope in her heart.<p>

She did this often, usually when she was reflecting and remembering her past. It wasn't good for a while, but her friend with his dorky ear to ear grin made a good seven years possible for her…

And for two years after they parted, she still looked out on the horizon hoping that someday she'd see his grin again.

"Oh dear… You still miss him, don't you?"

The girl, snapped out of her thoughts by the inquiry, looked behind at the Queen Regent of the area, which was an anamorphic mouse that stood at 2'3, wearing a ball gown of various hues of red and pink and a crown to show her sovereignty.

"Oh, I'm sorry Queen Minnie, I didn't see you there." The girl was quick to apologize.

Queen Minnie gave a small nod to show that she understood and the girl looked back at the horizon. "I- Yeah I miss him. I'm still mad at him for what he did."

"Mickey told me… You shouldn't be mad at him for what he did; he gave you an opportunity at having a better life. That shows that he deeply cares about you." Minnie said as she walked over to the girl's side. "In this time, it's hard to find people who would do that, even if it's for their friends. So you're lucky to have him as a friend."

"… Do you think he's alright?"

Minnie looked up at the girl. "I don't know Aiko, but I'm sure that he's able to take care of himself. Maybe he's looking for a way to meet you again."

This made Aiko smile a little and the two suddenly heard girls arguing.

"Oh dear, it seems that your friends are at it again." Queen Minnie sighed and looked at Aiko. "Would you be a dear and see what your friends are up to this time?"

Aiko smiled and walked towards the source of the commotion.

* * *

><p><em>Anima has several defenses to protect itself and it's in habitants from the forces that threaten it on a daily basis.<em>

_One of the threats against Anima is the element of darkness and it's current form: the Heartless._

_Originally the God of Discord, Chaos, used the darkness and gave those who lost their hearts to the Overtakers a second chance, therefore creating the Heartless. In this form, the Heartless could have some sort of existence in the Dark Realm where as they couldn't as normal inhabitants in the Light Realm. _

_But the Overtakers have taken this chance and have turned the Heartless into a tool for their war. They've used the Heartless to invade the Light Realm of Anima and spread the now corrupted darkness well beyond it's intended borders. Without Chaos' trusted servant, the Musketeer of Darkness who was also a Windrose Knight, Chaos cannot regain his control on the Dark Realm and on the Heartless._

_Therefore in response to the threat the Heartless present, Cosmos, Goddess of Harmony and ruler of the Light Realm, created a defense with the element of Light._

_There are two forces to this defense, the Princesses of Heart and Queens of the Court. _

_The Princesses of Heart are maidens born with pure hearts filled with light that are key in summoning one of the many pathways to Kingdom Hearts, the heart of Solaris that has been hidden away when the world broke into three. They also hold the shards of one of the most powerful weapons known to have existed, the χ-Blade. _

_The Queens of the Court are those who were at one time Princesses of Heart, but their hearts turned the light inside into a power to aid them in battle against those who would go after the Princesses of Heart and in turn Kingdom Hearts. They are the first line of this interact defense of the Light Realm._

_But once again, the Overtakers have taken something powerful and are using it for a tool of destruction. In this case it would be Light itself. _

_Cosmos has personally witnessed many Princesses and Queens falling prey to the Overtakers. In turn for achieving the Queens and Princesses' desires, the Overtakers turn their bright warm lights into something horrifying. _

_Because of this, she made it so the Princesses and Queens were hidden from them and charged her servant, the Musketeer of Light who was Windrose Knight as well, with protecting them since he's the only one that can control light the same way the Musketeer of Darkness can control darkness. Unfortunately since his disappearance, the Princesses and Queens are vulnerable._

_Fortunately King Mickey, a keyblade wielder, has founded the Princesses of Heart and have gathered them in his kingdom were they can be safe. But the Queens have yet to be found…_

* * *

><p>"Aqua, Claire!" Aiko called out with a bright smile as she found two of her friends talking to each other in the hallway.<p>

Both women stopped their conversation and turned their attention to her.

One of the two had short-ish blue hair, pale skin, blue eyes, and an obviously well developed body while the other had long light pink hair that was draped over one shoulder and pale aqua eyes.

Aiko stopped short in front of them. "I haven't seen you two in a while…"

The blue haired woman smiled. "We just went to town to get some ice cream."

"And discuss what brought us all here in the first place." The pink haired woman added in.

"You've been thinking a lot during the last few months Claire." Aiko addressed the pink haired woman. "And you've been going to Disney Town a lot recently Aqua…" She addressed the blue haired woman.

"Well there's nothing better to do around this place." Claire who was known by those she didn't really trust as "Lightning" said. "Where are you off too?"

Aiko was about to answer when they heard arguing again, this time it was louder.

"Skye and Justy are at it again?" Aqua asked, earning a nod from Aiko. "We'll help you out with this one."

"Ok, it'll give all of us something to do around here." Aiko smiled again and the three walked towards the arguing.

"Let's just hope that they're arguing about something other than the T.V." Claire noted.

Unfortunately for her, that's what the argument was about.

Two girls, Skye and Justy, were the source of all the commotion. Once again they were arguing over control of the remote as well as complaining about the state they're in.

Justy's long golden blond ringlets were now messed up, the oversized sweater she's wearing now had nail polish all over and a hole in it.

Skye looked just as frazzled and continued to yell at Justy, her British accent clear in her voice as she used various slang from her old home. Oblivious to the attention that she had drawn to their little fight over whether or not they were going to watch _Glee_ or _1000 Ways to Die_.

And it drew the attention of the other girls.

An Asian girl with deep brown hair and brown eyes, Ryuu, was trying to mediate the fighting while eating her sandwich after her intense boxing workout despite Justy's complaints about how smelly she is.

Another girl, with short spiked windswept black and purple hair and poison purple eyes sat at the small table with a much younger girl with strawberry blonde hair and ember eyes, Brooke and Avery, were too busy drawing to pay much attention to the fight. They knew that if you had seen one fight between Skye and Justy, then you've seen them all.

The last three, another Asian with black hair and ember eyes, Yuki, sat on a windowsill having previously been involved in a deep conversation with the other two; one had long scarlet hair and brown eyes and the last one had dark skin, green eyes, and messy blond hair that gave her an exotic appearance. The last two were Erza and Tia.

Erza watched Ryuu, Justy, and Skye fight before she decided to step in, taking the remote and turning off the tv. "Enough. This bickering between the three of you has to stop once and for all. And either you three will handle that yourselves or I will do it for you."

The three looked at her, then at each other and sat like normal people on the couch with Erza giving a small smile of approval. "That's better."

"Once again you live up to you reputation as 'disciplinarian' Erza." Lightning noted. "I couldn't imagine what the result would be if this happened to us when we first arrived here."

"I think the situation would have been much different, Claire. Which is why I'm thankful that we're friends, unlike most of the others residing here with us."

They weren't the only ones living at Disney Castle as King Mickey gathered up all the Princesses of Heart and brought them here for safety. They either were brought here because they had a strong light or they volunteered to come to make sure that their friends would be alright.

And while the majority of the group hung out loved being here and learning all sorts of new things, they broke away from the huge group and formed their own smaller group. And after eventually coming to terms with their differences they became good friends.

Tia sighed. "They're becoming agitated recently from being stuck in this castle for all of this time…"

"I would be too, King Mickey hasn't said anything about why he brought us here aside from saying that this is for protection." Yuki agreed with Tia and they all looked at Aqua for some answer because she knew the king.

"I'm not sure either, but I'm sure that King Mickey did this for a good reason."

The small group flinched when they heard a loud commotion from the garden and Avery groaned. "I wish they would stop fighting whenever I get the chance to sketch. I mean look at this; another picture's ruined thanks to them!" She muttered something under her breath and furiously erased her mistake.

The others crowed around Avery to see what she was drawing this time.

The picture was of some young man that was dressed like a doctor. There were other pictures of this person along with others that from what they could tell were his friends.

"AJK, DSK, JLA, SRA, SLR, GCL, MABS, BM, ZSA, AJFR, HACK, DLE, RAXA…. Is that some kind of code?" Brooke asked raising an eyebrow at the pictures.

"I don't think so… I think they're initials. I'm not sure why but they've been appearing in my dreams and this guy 'AJK'…" Avery tapped the picture that she made the mistake on. "He's been in almost all of them, saving me from something…"

"Oh so they're heroes then… They don't look like the heroic type."

"Yeah you're right but appearances can be deceiving."

There was another commotion, this time it was louder and closer to the room they were in… and it didn't sound like a fight. They looked up to see the other residents running somewhere.

Then Serah, Lightning's younger sister who looked like her, and Snow, her fiancée that in the group's opinion looked somewhat kind of like a gang member, stopped from their running.

"Sis you have to come quick."

"What's going on Serah?"

"It's King Mickey." Snow answered instead of Serah. "He's back and he has some big news that he wants to share with everyone. He's requested that everyone come to the throne room right away."

Without hesitation, they joined Serah and Snow and ran to the throne room.

* * *

><p>The rain had stopped, but the three figures whom the boys figured out were guardians of some kind, told them to stay in the shelter that they had found in the ruins of Midgar until they were told to come out.<p>

They learned a lot in the last… well while since none of them had a watch to tell how long it had been since they were reunited. First off they learned that acid rain hurts, this was previously Midgar, and the three figures had been sent by some party to find them.

The rest of the information wasn't good news.

Terra, Ventus, and Aqua hadn't been found yet and the two keybearers that had replaced them: Sora and Riku were in hot water. Both had taken the Mark of Mastery exam and Riku had become a Keyblade Master but Sora left for parts unknown with Xehanort and a new Organization XIII were after him. They wanted to make him an incarnation of Xehanort and Riku since he'd become a master was searching nonstop for his friend with little to no rest.

Meanwhile Lea had become a keyblade wielder as well, having joined Riku in his search for Sora while Yen Sid and King Mickey were busy gathering the Princesses of Heart and keyblade wielders to counter the rapid growth of Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed. So far they were not successful as Xehanort seemed to be gaining keyblade wielders as well.

Aizen had come back and laid waste to both the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, killing Soul Reaper, Hollow, Visored, and Arrancar alike. He'd also created a new army of god knows what and was once again planning to overthrow the Spirit King. Karakura Town was reduced to rubble and those who survived had vanished due to the fact that Aizen had been looking for them and/or any starting Soul Reaper, Visored, Hollow, and Arrancar to use as guinea pigs for experiments that he started. Few of the original Arrancar actually joined him and aided in the destruction of the others; those being Nnoitra Gilga and Szayel Granz.

The Land of Fire, Land of Lightning, Land of Earth, Land of Wind and the other nations that had ninja were wiped out as well, with little survivors left. Those who did survive became underground as they moved to a new area while Kabuto developed technology and his own little army of god knows what.

Maleficent and her allies had been recruiting those who use magic to join them in conquest and had slowly been wiping out the various kingdoms in their area one by one. The only area that had yet to fall was Disney Castle, but no one knew for sure how long it would last against the constant onslaughts.

The dark guilds joined Maleficent and with their combined strength crushed the other guilds and the Magic Council and were currently hunting the Dragons one by one. The only guild to have survived the attack was Fairy Tail but it was due to luck as the members had all been out on assignments when the attack occurred. They went off the grid as soon as they came back and saw the damage that had been done, taking every single magical item and spell and such so the Dark Guilds couldn't use them to harm innocent people.

The Z Fighters were badly beaten and gathered as many innocent civilians and aliens that had been staying in their country and fled to parts unknown.

Apparently Sin had soon up again and was destroying islands before any proper defense could be created and Cie'th were running rampant.

Any national military had been wiped out as any organizations that didn't join a group called the Overtakers, which Aizen, Kabuto, Maleficent and their allies had joined and was wiping out countries at an alarming rate.

At the same time, citizens were beginning to vanish and portals were opening up erasing the border between the human world, demon world, and various spirit worlds allowing monsters to roam free and cause havoc on a large scale. This was another deed done by the Overtakers.

In response to this various rebellious groups had risen to fight the Overtakers but had been systematically crushed before any damage to the group could be done and there was now only one group that had no official name yet that is currently underground. It had done damage to the Overtakers but they were badly outnumbered and out gunned while the Overtakers seem to be growing at an alarming rate.

The only continent that seemed to be holding out was Erundas and had it became the place where refugees flocked to reside and wait out the onslaught, resulting in a huge population increase. Radiant Garden was a prime example, having become more of a city with all the new residents. But resources were diminishing at an alarming rate, meaning that the continent could not hold on for very long.

Various races that had been around since the beginning, now deemed "the Ancients" by citizens today, could turn the tide against the Overtakers have vanished into thin air, taking their magic and technologies with them.

Countries like Rozarth and Land of Departure had been turned into glass while other countries were lost in a mist that had appeared and was covering the landscape like wildfire.

In short, as told by the three: "We're on the brink of destruction and we're banking on legends to help us out of this mess."

But this wasn't the only thing that the boys learned.

During the last ten years they found out about the whereabouts and activities that the others were doing.

In a nutshell Genesis had become a monster hunter, Stephen left Fairy Tail and had been wandering around chasing rumors with no luck, Roza was on the most wanted list for trying to help others, Mystery had become a fugitive, Dante became an assassin for hire, Bobby and Halcyon had been in hiding, Azrael became a drug addict and was well known in the underground world and black markets, Mikey had been chronicling monsters in his father's journal, and Zahler, Shea, Alec, and Declan… they had been living in hell basically, dealing with gangs, war, and death twenty-four seven.

And now… they were sitting around a recently made fire absorbing all the information that they had learned in complete silence, save for the crackling of the flames.

"So…" Bobby nervously laughed. "This is pretty much the end of the world."

"Way to state the obvious, Sherlock." Genesis threw in a snide comment that made Bobby tear his gaze away from the fire and glare at the red head.

"You want to start something?"

"Are you asking for a fight, blondie? Oh wait… you don't know how to because you've been in school all this time!"

"You think I've been in school all this time! I've been out there helping people out and looking for my friends!"

Mystery scoffed. "Look at you, still talking out of your own ass about your "heroics". I'm sure Daddy is so proud of you."

Bobby looked at him. "That sure means a lot coming from someone who's living breathing bad luck. So how many people did _you_ save? Oh wait, you didn't save anyone! In fact anyone who's anywhere near you dies, just take a look at your brother, girlfriends, and comrades! They died because they were around _you_!"

Mystery laughed, shaking his head with a smile. "You did not just say that, because if you did…" He looked up at him again with an angry expression. "You're going to regret it."

"Well guess what? I just did."

And that was the entire tense atmosphere needed because Mystery lunged at Bobby, knocking Genesis down in the process and the three started the fight. Then a few sloppy hits involved the others until all of them were involved in a brutal brawl.

Fists flew and insults were said until Shea grabbed a pipe and swung, hitting almost all of them since they had been fighting it a small cluster.

If they didn't stumble and fall, they stopped at stared.

Shea stood still, panting as he had some cuts from falling down, bruises from where he got punched, and overall looked like a dirty ratty kid that was picked off the streets, wielding the pipe like it was a sword ready and willing to strike anyone that so much as came anywhere near him.

A few minutes of absolute silence came over the group as they lowered their fists.

Shea bitterly laughed and let the pipe fall to the ground. "Screw this." And he left the safety of the shelter, not even bothering to look back.

He didn't need to because he knew that the others were following him.

"Where are you going!" Bobby sounded like he was still angry.

"Away from you guys."

They left the ruins of Midgar and headed into some unknown direction in the wasteland.

"Shea, wait!" Bobby grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "What's your problem? What's got you so worked up!"

"I'm looking at it!" He yelled, moving away from Bobby.

He took a couple steps back and again started to laugh bitterly. "This is not what I expected. You know I thought when I heard that you guys were actually alive I was excited because there's a chance that I get to see you guys again! I guess I was thinking about the people I knew ten years ago because you guys are the exact opposite from what I pictured!"

"What are you talking about! We're still the same people."

"Find a mirror and take a good look, Bobby! You've become a coward, Stephen doesn't know how to tell facts from rumors, Genesis and Dante are enjoy going out and killing things, Azrael's a pothead, Hal's some computer obsessed chain smoker, James is out playing batman, Alec's gone nuts and talking to every inanimate object he sees, Del's too wrapped up in the lives of others playing Doctor Phil, Mikey's out there cataloguing every plant and animal in existence, Zahler's living the high life and Roza's out there trying to be a hero when clearly he can't because everyone sees him as a freak! Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice then shame on me for actually believing that you guys were still the same people I cared about! Give me a medal for being so naïve! Oh and the best part? The world's fighting a war against a group of freaks and losing! It's the apocalypse and I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with you guys!" He threw his arms up and looked skeptical, still laughing. "This is probably rock bottom, so now you guys tell me how _this_ could possibly get any worse!"

Cold metal pressing against his skull and the distinct click of a pistol ready to fire just about answered his question. Hearing Adolf's voice made his blood freeze.

"I don't know Alister, you tell me." He could hear him sneering as men in black suits and gloves appeared from corridors of darkness, surrounding them.

It just got worse.

* * *

><p>Rigel, Sirius, and Deneb were best friends and the three chosen to find and protect the Windrose Knights and Musketeers. They knew who was who and were the best people to find all thirteen, thanks to the training that they had when they were kids growing up in their tribe.<p>

When they came back to find that they were gone, they feared the worst and started searching the wasteland for them hoping that they would make it before the enemy did.

But when they found them, they were too late.

Adolf had them surrounded by Watchers, a monstrosity that was created by the Overtakers to stalk and hunt any desired prey.

"Well well…" Adolf laughed as he looked at the three. "So you're the couriers King Kai and the other Sages chose. It makes more sense now on how easy it was for you to find them, but you lose because they're ours now." Then he turned his attention to Shea, who was white as a ghost and face to face with a Watcher in its true form.

A faceless, hunched over beast with sharp claws and a black hole that served as a mouth with razor sharp "teeth", ready to kill should the young man move. The other Watchers did the same to his friends who were also pale.

"You see, Shea? Nightmares do come true, and this one isn't over yet." He laughed. "Oh no, you see you and your little friends have a reunion to attend and then… well let's keep that a surprise." He looked up at the Watcher. "You know what to do; I'll take care of these three."

Adolf calmly walked towards the guardians while the monsters started to mercilessly attack the boys, who did whatever they could to fight back.

Two of the three attacked him and fell in one hit.

And before the last one could attack him, Adolf disabled him and watched him fall to the ground.

Deneb knew the risks this mission had and he had planned on succeeding. After all these boys were the last hope everyone had.

And all he could do was watch as they, unconscious and injured, were being dragged one by one through the Corridor of Darkness.

Adolf used his foot to flip the guardian onto his back. "Looks like you failed." He loaded his pistol and pointed it at Deneb's head.

"Kali sends her regards."

_**~Chapter 2 End~**_


End file.
